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First – this is not a paid for advertisement The London Imaging Centre does not even know my name. However they do offer a prompt, efficient, money drive service and that is not all bad.

Second – You need an MRI scan if you have a significant (time off work or sport) injury

Step 1 – Which part of you?
This may seem an obvious question – however. . . my friend with the neck problem (see previous post) was actually complaining of shoulder and arm pain.

Rule 1 – unless you have a specific and direct injury to the body part in question, the best place to start looking for the cause is in the spine.

For example, unless a truck has actually run over your leg, the chances are that your leg pain is actually caused by a spine problem, most likely in the lumbar region
If you have fallen onto your wrist or hand, by slipping on ice, then the problem will almost certainly be in the wrist and hand. However you may also have damaged your elbow shoulder and neck.

You may already be thinking – this could be expensive! and a good Health Care Practitioner can help you work out where the problem is. If, for example, for no good reason you get a pain in your foot, knee or hip, wrist, elbow, shoulder or side, the root problem is likely to be in the neck. This is the fundamental assumption of postural and spinal therapists, such as osteopaths, chiropractors and the Alexander Technique.

Problems with the spine are almost always postural, especially if there is no other obvious cause

In any case, the condition of your spine is an important piece of information. Don’t be disheartened if you have a report that says degenerative changes – because as everyone – the answer to degeneration is regeneration and in many cases, that can be better than the original structure. More of that later.

If you want to do the bit of you that hurst mosts, fair enough but you may just be kicking the can down the road, rather than reaching the source of the problem

This is the form – print it off and get it signed by your local friendly Health Care Practitioner – Physio or Doctor,
Send it to the London Imaging Center at Lister House, by email, fax or post
Book your appointment, pay your money and

A few days ago, my friend had a sudden severe pain in his neck, it has been on and off for the last couple of years. He is a writer and we all agree that poor posture is at the root of his problem; too long sitting at a computer. The pain stops him sleeping, exercising or getting comfortable in any position.

NHS answer –

A visit to the GP (because he was ‘lucky’ enough to get an appointment) where he was loaded up with painkillers, including Naproxen, Co-codamol and Tramadol (aka heroin, opium, narcotics, laudanum – especially bad for someone with a slightly dicky liver) and then in 4 – 6 weeks time physio and if that doesn’t help and the problem continues, maybe an MRI Scan of his neck. but probably not for a few months, to see if he might need surgery for his soon-to-be chronic neck pain,

Expert answer –

Step 1 – Make the diagnosis through an urgent MRI scan and provide painkillers as required

Depending on the diagnosis and the severity of the injury
Rest the affected part, pain relief, ice packs

Step 2 – Allow ample time for healing and then gradually start treatment and rehabilitation. The more severe the injury, the longer the time needed for healing eg
a – Large disc prolapse – might need urgent surgery to take the pressure off the spinal cord and nerves
b – Smaller disc prolapse – likely to get better on its own – may still take two to three months
c – Chronic and degenerative changes – rest and painkillers, get over the acute episode and then physio, osteopathy, Alexander Technique to work on the postural problems.
d – Normal looking scan – less serious and almost certainly a largely muscular injury where early physiotherapy, as with whiplash, gives best results

Everyone needs to improve their posture. Poor posture causes disc disease, that includes too much sitting, slouching, the wrong type of exercise, repeated injuries, stress and generally weighing more than one should

Alexander Technique and Pilates are good for posture, Chiropractitioners are also good at freeing up stiff joints, as are sports masseurs. But all need to be followed up by an exercise programme that focuses on postural alignment.

It is easy to see that we are creatures who have come down from swinging in the trees more like an Oran Utah than something raised to its hind legs like a Bear. Our skeletons, not least our pelvis is very different from the Bear who has nothing like the grace and range of movement of a Great Ape

Bear Standing

The NHS approach means you muddle along for months, even years, while your body degenerates with obesity, diabetes etc from lack of proper exercise and your mind degenerates whilst it becomes addicted to the bliss or otherwise of opiates spiced up by memory loss and early dementia.

The technological approach means you get an immediate diagnosis, a rational, effective and efficient treatment plan. And you can be back in the swing of things within two or three months.

The London Imaging Centre are onto the problem. You can have an MRI scan within hours for as little as £200, less than the cost of a weekend’s entertainment

All you need is a referral form signed by your doctor, NHS, or private or Health Care Professional such as a physiotherapist.

Bornean Orangutan mature male ‘Doyok’ standing supported by a tree. His balletic poise is reminiscent of Nureyev and reminds of us our illustrious background descended from the Great Apes

Overall, more harm is done, at least in this country, by failing to diagnose serious problems than by allowing a few of our more anxious citizens an extra bit of time and few extra resources. Technology can go some way to restoring our faith in the claims of modern medicine. Technology can and must replace a non-specialist, general practitioner with a three-week waiting list for a first appointment.

When the quality of your life and your future health is at stake, there is no other choice. Technology is at the heart of human progress and the greatest triumph of Western Medicine, we need to embrace it, not retreat to the Dark Ages

If you need an operation you need it now – not in two years time when you reach the top of your local NHS waiting list. While you are waiting, your condition worsens, your muscles weaken, and your health deteriorates. Those people who either pay their local surgeon to do something that is part of his day job or more sensibly go abroad for treatment, are acting in their own best interests. Few people in this country cannot afford to do something that costs less than the latest hi-tech TV or foreign holiday, it is largely a question of values, priorities and beliefs. The NHS is no longer run in the patients’ best interests. Get over it.

My father was a consultant physician at the local hospital. In his retirement needed his second hip replacing. Being a loyal citizen of the NHS, he went to the local hospital, was seen by the local orthopaedic surgeon and put on the local NHS waiting list. Two years later, his ticket came up and he was duly reviewed by the local orthopaedic surgeon. At this stage, the local surgeon (wisely enough) decided that his hip was too far gone for surgery and that he should make do with painkillers and a wheelchair.

My father, who by now, was 79, and had fought with the Chindits in WW2 was not about to settle for a life of invalidity. He invoked his private medical insurance, found an orthopaedic surgeon in Oxford, who specialised in hip replacements and had his operation in a private hospital just outside Oxford. Post-operatively, he had a stormy course. Without a doubt, the local NHS would have baulked at putting a 79-year old man on a ventilator for a month. However this private hospital had a socialist approach ‘to each according to their need’. They kept him free of bed sores and chest infections for a month while he got over the surgery, and then for a further month until he had recovered sufficiently to go to a nursing home. From where, due to his single-minded determination, he went home. His favorite complaint ‘No one else seems to want to go home, what’s wrong with them?’ – ‘Yes father’

BUPA, (bless them – on this occasion at least) footed the bill, and after two months in a local Nursing Home, my father returned home and lived another ten years largely self-caring. Two weeks before his sudden death on his 91st Birthday, he was riding around town on his mobility scooter. Not a bad outcome.

His journey would have however been easier, if he had his hip replacement when he needed it – rather than being on a elastic NHS waiting list for so long that he was np longer fit for NHS surgery and needed to go to a specialist 100 miles away.

Waiting lists are unheard of elsewhere Europe and the US. Waiting lists cost lives, health and quality of life. They are expensive to administer, as patients fall prey to avoidable complications and incidental admisssions. My father, like every other citizen of this counrty deserved better. It is not about spending more it is about being better organised and getting on the work that needs doing.

Most sprained ankles get better regardless of their treatment, as long as the ligaments holding the joint together are largely intact, or do they? after a bad sprain do ‘the niggles’ go completely, or is there always a ‘weakness’? It’s rarely life-threatening, so how much does it matter as long as the person is not an elite athlete and can still get to work.

Although the ankle joint is usually described as a hinge joint, nothing in the human body is quite that simple! The ligaments around the ankle form a complex joint, allowing a joint that is primarily a hinge joint to have some rotation as well as expansion and contraction to give a close and stable fit between the bones of the lower leg and the bones of the back of the foot

The Ankle Ligaments

MRI of the ankle

It goes without saying that feet and ankles are important. If one joint in the leg is disrupted, the other joints have to compensate and this impacts on their function. Usually, people can get away with one bad joint, providing they are not ‘heavy users’, that is they stick to doing ordinary things, like not running, not playing sports, and definitely not playing football.

Thus consequences of an injured ankle can result in an imbalance in the legs, postural problems, joint problems, arthritis and eventually joint replacement. En route, lack of exercise can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and other diseases of modern life.

The correct diagnosis, followed by appropriate treatment, saves all of the above.

If the person/patient in the previous post had had an MRI when he first injured his ankle, followed by an immediate ligament repair, he could have saved himself a lifetime of ill health. We need excellent treatment, not overtreatment from the time of injury. Expectations need to rise, we need to stop accepting a second rate service because it comes from our beloved NHS.

I don’t believe a money-driven service is better than one driven by targets and performance indicators. Both stop people doing the job they want to do. The old NHS worked because the doctors and nurses believed in putting the patient first, regardless of the hours they worked. Leaving work on time was not in the contract. The European working hours Directive has done Healthcare UK no favours.

“Minor” injuries need first class treatment. Minor injuries accumulate and lead to major damage. Old age may be nothing more than an accumulation of minor traumas – those with fewer injuries and better treatment get less stressed, look younger and last longer. Bad medical treatment is in part responsible for widening Health Gap between rich and poor. The consequences of trivial injuries if not properly treated by a good physiotherapist can last a lifetime.

For Want of a Nail

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.For want of a shoe the horse was lost.For want of a horse the rider was lost.For want of a rider the message was lost.For want of a message the battle was lost.For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

which is a German proverb, the English is version:

To spoil the ship for a hap’orth of tar
To have something important fail, for the want of a small amount of money or effort

In other words, however trivial the injury might seem and a sprained ankle does not sound like a life changing injury, if not treated properly, it can have serious consequences.

And it is impossible to treat any problem properly without full diagnostic information. That information comes from throwing the highest quality technology we have, at the problem, at the first opportunity.

X-rays, as well as blood tests, scans and other investigations, have magic healing powers and are the envy of all Healthcare Professionals worldwide. I have sent many limping half-dead patients hobbling down the corridor to X-ray, to find them 20 minutes later, fully restored, bright as a button, by a quick and painless normal X-ray.

This case concerns a young man of 25years of age who twisted his ankle whilst running wearing a large backpack. He was fit and not one to make a fuss. Rather than bother the doctor, he rested his ankle up overnight. The following day, it was no better so he went to his local Accident & Emergency. They referred him to an onsite GP, who referred him back to A&E for an X-ray of his seriously swollen ankle. The X-ray was normal but because he could not walk, he was given a large plastic boot, a pair of crutches and an appointment to come back in two weeks. Two weeks later, the swelling was gone, the ankle still tender but he could just abot walk. The boot and crutches were removed and two weeks later he began physiotherapy. Six months later he was more or back less back to his usual self.

Over the next couple of years, he twisted his ankle several more times, playing football, climbing, fell walking and finally walking on an uneven pavement. His ankle was now a chronic problem. The orthopaedic surgeon wondered whether the ankle was unstable and X-rays showed early arthritis. The patient no longer plays football nor take any kind of exercise.

The patient now can’t run, has intermittent pain in his ankle and over time he may need an ankle fusion and he is already looking at a downhild spiral of western disease: diabetes, obesity, widespread arthritis, high blood pressure and heart disease. He might need joint replacements and even spinal surgery to keep him upright on his legs.

How could this have been done differently? Could we not, in the middle of the twenty-first century AD, have prevented this man’s spiral down a helter skelter of preventable diseases?

Definitely

First, early definitive investigations. It was twenty-four hours before he had an X-ray to rule out a broken ankle He had injured his ankle quite badly, so if not a broken bone, what was the likely injury. Answer: either a damaged ankle ligament or a torn Achilles tendon.

Second, this was a severe sprain – he couldn’t walk. Something was definitely wrong. So if not a broken bone, what was the likely injury? Answer: either a damaged ankle ligament or a torn Achilles tendon.

Answer: Either a damaged ankle ligament or a torn Achilles tendon.

Ligaments are the strapping that keep the bones on the straight and narrow, stronger than nylon and steel they hold the bones in place. If they are damaged, or torn then the joint starts to become unstable and this damages it. With damage to the surface of the joint comes pain, loss of movement and arthritis. Further medical treatment includes painkillers, naproxen, steroid injections and eventually an operation to fuse the joint or replace it. The pills damage the stomach, further pills stop the stomach producing acid, this affects digestion and so the steady decline begins.

Ligaments do heal – but they need to be held supported and immobile for three months or more. If very badly torn, they may need an operation. These treatments need to be done sooner rather than later, to prevent the joint surfaces being damaged.

Xrays show bones, MRI scans show ligaments. Xrays cost approximately £80 – £100, MRI scans maybe up to £300. A normal X-ray could lead to an MRI scan, which together with nurse time might cost £500. The correct diagnosis – either a mild sprain or a torn ligament means our young friend has the correct treatment, his ankle is secured for the correct amount of time in his airboot, Indeed his ligament injury might even need a surgical repair. He then has the right physiotherapy, at the right time and after six months he is all but good as new, without a permanently weakened ankle and the incipient time bomb hidden within it.

This approach means ‘Throw technology at the patients’. Do a £300 MRI scan early, make the right diagnosis, give him the right treatment and start to close the health gap. Because this level of care is available if you are rich and desirable. Yet a £300 MRI scan at the time of injury saves the £10,000s in the patient’s later lifetime. As it is, he will die younger and at a significantly greater cost than his richer cousin.

Patients are right to have faith in their X-rays, blood tests, scans and other investigations. The key to a successful outcome is in making the correct diagnosis before you start treatment. In this case, it seems highly likely that the patient had torn their ankle ligaments when they first injured their ankle. The best outcome, following from this diagnosis would have been to immobilise his ankle for eight weeks. Once the ligaments have healed, active physiotherapy gets him moving and restores his muscle power.

A normal X-ray could have been followed by a MRI, which would have shown whether the ligaments were torn, or just sprained.

The present system is messy, inadequate and unreliable. The first stop has to be the laboratory- get your results then choose your doctor/nurse or physiotherapist for your treatment. The State, aka the NHS, does not know best, You the patient should know what is in your best interest because it is your body and you are charged with its care.

There are many unanswered health questions, some personal and some more general – if you are happy to have another view of your situation and share it with Google, I will do what I can to provide what information I can

If you have a body, you need your health! Your health, mental and physical is your greatest asset. If you have good health, a working mind and body, then everything else can follow. You can be happy, you can be rich, you can reach your dreams. If you are handicapped by poor health, it limits your vision, it makes life harder and your journey tougher. There is another way, take responsibility, take action and choose health.

Health has to be your first priority. Everyone has choices and not all choices are equal. Very often the healthy choice is hard work and a lot less appealing than many short term, easy and convenient alternatives. However years

Hiding in the Ascenia

of ill-health, kept alive by medicines, dependent on doctor visits and medical tests and failing health care organisations reduce the chances of a productive retirement and enjoyable old age.